IRVINE High school sophomore Derek Le said he's always been interested in science. But it wasn't until he saw how researchers could use stem cells to repair tissue damaged by heart attacks that Le thought science could be his future career.
"Wow, this is so amazing," said Le, a student from Westminster High. "They can create cells to fix people's hearts. I think I want to do something like this."
Emily Nordhoff, Junior Research Specialist is harnessed in a body weight support system that is used to measure walking patterns. More than 250 high school students took a tour of UC Irvine's Stem Cell program to learn about stem cell research.
CHRISTINE COTTER, FOR THE REGISTER
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The center was established at UC Irvine in 2010 with help of a $10 million endowment from PIMCO founder and his wife.
Mission
The center's goals include training new researchers, providing state-of-the-art tissue culture labs and equipment, and testing new technologies and products related to stem cells research.
Accomplishments
Recent accomplishments include: securing first federally approved embryonic stem cell based therapy to go to clinical trial; developing of bone marrow stem cell treatment for stroke patients; and development of treatments for retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration.